Dorset women's football teams welcome Government funding
A £30 million pot is going towards the grassroots game
Women’s football teams across Dorset could benefit from a new £30 million fund to get more women and girls into sport.
It'll be used to build approximately 30 new state-of-the-art 3G pitches and accompanying facilities.
There’ll be women and girls only evenings and teams introduced to each site to drive up participation.
The Government’s announcement comes off the back of the success of the Lionesses in Euro 2022 and the World Cup.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said:
"The Lionesses display incredible talent and have achieved highly prized success. Their Euros victory gripped the nation, their success getting through to the World Cup final lifted the national mood.
"During the World Cup I said that we would do everything possible to support women and girls’ football so we can watch our Lionesses roar on the world stage for generations to come. Today, along with The FA I am launching a £30 million fund to make sure the next generation of girls have equal opportunities to get into sport.
"Building on our unprecedented support for grassroots facilities, this is just the latest move in our commitment to invest in women and girls’ grassroots sport facilities, and ensure the squad’s legacy lives long into the future."
The news has been welcomed by Poole Town's Ladies side, who say they currently struggle with finding training facilities, but this cash will show football's available to all.
England’s FIFA World Cup 2023 Captain Millie Bright said:
"We’re proud to have been able to give the nation a lot to cheer in the last 18 months through what we’ve achieved on the pitch but we’ve been clear we want to drive change off the pitch too.
"One of our collective biggest motivations and core values is for females across the country to have equal opportunity. We are really pleased to see the commitment towards this funding and the promise that this will be prioritised for the growth of women’s and girls’ football so whatever the motivation to play, there is a safe and accessible area for females to go to."